How to Frame a Figg

Don Knotts is in yet another worm is turned film where he's set up to be a patsy to take a fall, but he somehow outsmarts the crooks. In this case the crooks are among others the mayor of his small town and chief assistant Edward Andrews and Joe Flynn.

Our hero is this meek accountant working for the city and the big guys feeling the heat of investigation decide Knotts is their patsy. To do that they have to give him or pretend to give him a big promotion.

What can I say is that even Knotts is not as stupid as they think. He's ably assisted by girlfriend Elaine Joyce and his friend and big movie fan Frank Welker. Welker is especially funny here, constantly making allusions to all these old films to cover every situation they are in.

Knotts is also perfectly cast in the role. He'd be the perpetual schnook in all his films not just How To Frame A Fig.

This zany film rivals the Ghost and Mr. Chicken as one of Don Knott's finest film performances. Knotts is an accountant for a Podunk city hall that is good for swindling the citizens. They fire the "three competent bookkeepers and keep the dumb one" (Knotts of course is the dumb one). When his garbage collecting cohort accidentally empties the wrong trash can, Knotts finds himself wrapped up in a bizarre trap set by the city council for him. Funny moments in the movie include the Bowling Alley Restroom scene, and the cemetery scene is absolutely hilarious. Typical Knotts, the nervous ninny act is well used, and as usual he is surrounded by lots of crazy character actors from the sixties. Such actors as Frank Welker, and Pitt Herbert add to the mayhem. As one may expect Knotts's armed with a big car, a pretty girl, and no real clue of what he's doing. Fun for anyone, especially nostalgia buffs, but just about anyone will love it.

Don Knotts is Hollis Figg, the dumbest bookkeeper in town. When the city fathers buy a second-hand computer to cover up their financial shenanigans...

It was nice to see Yvonne Craig as a character other than Batgirl, even if she was merely the evil temptress. And Dick Warlock on stunts? Wish i knew exactly what he did, because Mr. Warlock is someone I admire for all the wrong reasons.

The film as a whole is good -- it is funny, silly and has some dumb moments (and I use "dumb" in the nicest way possible). I would not go so far as to call it a "good" film, but it is enjoyable... and I do love me some Don Knotts.

An entrepreneurial cabal of city commissioners is on the verge of being exposed. Therefore, they cover their tracks by purchasing an old computer and firing anyone smart enough to detect their pilfering from city coffers. Also, just in case they are detected they need a patsy. Yep, it was not hard to pick a Fig.

An interesting surprise is when Hollis (Don Knotts) visits his new secretaries' (Yvonne Craig) apartment and asks how she can afford it on her salary. The answer Blue-chip Stamps. I used to save them as a kid.

There are too many great and recognizable actors in this film to name each independently. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention Edward Andrews; he plays the second in command Mayor Robert Chisholm. Previously we remember him from such films as The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) and The Brass Bottle (1964).

If folks were really this stupid I could be the SRW - Supreme Ruler of the World. In this one Knotts plays a dimwitted bean counter for some little jerk water town run by a group of crooked simpletons only slightly brighter than he is. When things appear a bit shaky for the crooks they go for a frame-up of the patsy Figg. Plenty of laughs as Knotts does his usual bumbling, stumbling act. I especially appreciated the extension cord scene; asininity at it's highest level.